Mexico relocates 233 prisoners after riot

More than 230 inmates have been relocated from the overcrowded Topo Chico prison in the northern state of Nuevo Leon after a riot there left 49 prisoners dead, authorities said Friday.

The leaders of the two gangs whose clash caused the riot, Jorge Ivan Hernandez and Juan Pedro Saldivar, were among the 233 relocated prisoners, Nuevo Leon Governor Jaime Rodriguez told a news conference.

Rodriguez, who took office in October 2015, said that shortage in funds and lack of custodians coupled with irregularities in the prison have contributed to the deadly riot.

Most of the deaths were caused by knife wounds or knocks from sticks and hammers, said the governor, adding that one of the prisoners died after being shot by a prison custodian.

Police found 60 hammers and 68 knives after the incident.

The two rival groups inside Topo Chico belonged to the same criminal organization called "Los Zetas."

Tensions in the prison had been running high since Saldivar's "Z-27" group was moved from the northeastern state of Tamaulipas to Topo Chico in November 2015.

Since the arrival of "Z-27," local authorities had tried to move Hernandez's "El Credo" group to another prison, but a court order prevented them from doing so.

Local police are currently in control of the prison with the help of federal police agents. Endi